March 13th Toledo Fishing Report

JOE JOSLIN

Published 12:00 am, Monday, March 15, 2010

March 13, 2010 - Hello, Anglers. Hey, hey, hey???...spring is on the way! What a special change of pace with this warm weather. The various forms of wildlife around the lake are also excited as they are sounding off in numerous ways but all singing the same song.....we love this weather.

The waterfowl and other creatures around the lake have also been enjoying a bounty of food from Toledo as the massive shad die-off has made food easy picking for anything who likes to feed on shad sushi. As we have been reporting, the extreme cold water temps of the past few weeks put extra stress on baitfish (shad) and millions of them died and floated to the top.

Those shad that the fish and waterfowl did not eat were deposited on windblown shorelines all around the lake and scavengers came in droves to get the leftovers. Mother Nature has a great design and it is such a neat experience to see The Creator's master plan in motion. Yes, I love to catch fish but I know I am one of a special few who is able to spend extended periods of time outside observing nature. However, one needs to be observant or you will miss something special so look not only at the surface of the lake but beneath as well and look along the shoreline plus also in the forest. There is lots of neat stuff going on out there.

LAKE CONDITIONS: At mid-week the water temp is running from 55 to 60 degrees depending on what time of the day and what part of the lake. The north coves are the warmest in the afternoon and the main lake is the coolest. The lake level is 172.3 with one generator down and one generator running 24 hrs plus 5 flood gates are open 1 ft each with a release of 13,400 cfs (cubit feet per second). North Toledo is stained to muddy, mid lake is stained and south Toledo is slightly stained but clearing.

FISHING REPORTS/BASS: Bass fishing definitely came up a notch the past few days as more bass actually decided to totally commit to hitting a lure. Finally it is possible to get several bites in a small area and multiple bass out of same area. The past few days we have been fishing fairly shallow and have targeted drains/ditches as well as primary and secondary points in main feeder creeks on the southern part of The Bend.

Rat-L-Traps by Bill Lewis accounted for some of our bass and on cloudy days we used Toledo Gold and Rayburn Red and shad patterns on sunny days. The spinnerbait bite has been in the mix and that too is improving as Stanley's Vibra Spin and Wedgeplus as well as a Norman's Bull Dog all great choices for spinnerbaits to work over shallow grass (hydrilla). On both "Traps' and spinnerbaits I am using braid and Berkley 100% Fluorocarbon.

If the grass is thick I use heavy Spider braid (50 pound test) which helps to rip out the bait from the grass otherwise I use 17 pound test Berkley Big Game or Fluorocarbon. We have also had good success using the old reliable Texas rigged Berkley Power lizard in watermelon red and green pumpkin and pitching it in heavy grass. Another pattern that is working is a weightless Texas rig using a Berkley Sinking Minnow, Gulp! Sinking Minnow, 5 inch Senko, Jerk Shad and Fluke.

Carolina rigs are also working when used in at least two ways. The first is with a light weight and short leader and worked all the way from the bank back to the boat. Another is with a medium weight (1/4 to 3/8 ounce) and fished on flats and ridges as well as in ditches and drains leading into the back of coves with spawning areas. Berkley Power Worms (7 and 10 inch), Power Lizards, Flukes and Senkos all work beautifully on a Carolina rig fished in the flats/ridges/drains/ditches which have 8 to 14 feet.

Shallow-running wide-lipped crankbaits are also getting some good reviews....baits such as a Minus One. This is an awesome time of the year and there are plenty of big bass to catch on Toledo. After you catch your trophy make a photo then measure girth and length and turn that into a taxidermist to build a fiberglass replica and release the big bass as they are our brood stock for future big bass. The replica will last a life time and you will enjoy the feeling that you released your trophy bass.